ClearlySo, Europe’s leading impact investment bank, announced today that it has launched ClearlySo ATLAS, an impact assessment solution for private equity and venture capital investors. Octopus Ventures, a London based venture capital firm, focused on backing unusually talented entrepreneurs, is the first customer to go-live and is in the process of rolling out the solution across its portfolio.

ClearlySo ATLAS helps private equity and venture capital investors assess the social and environmental impact of their investments and provides practical suggestions for action. Research increasingly shows that there is a positive correlation between impact and financial return, and lack of awareness about negative impact is a risk.

The methodology ClearlySo ATLAS uses to assess impact combines current best practices, industry-wide expertise and years of in-house experience developed at ClearlySo. Private Equity Reporting Group, Principles for Responsible Investment, European Union Directives and Red Line Voting are all considered and the results are mapped to the UN Sustainable Development Goals ensuring investors engage with the latest market expectations.

Luke Hakes, investment director at Octopus Ventures commented: “We are delighted to be working with ClearlySo to assess the social and economic impact of the companies we back. We are incredibly proud of our portfolio companies which include Antidote and Big Health and the brilliant work they do in their respective sectors. We know that High Growth Small Businesses have a disproportionately high impact on our domestic economy and we are excited to be able to work with ClearlySo to analyse the impact of our venture capital investments.”

Further commenting, Lindsay Smart, head of impact innovation at ClearlySo said: “The launch of ClearlySo ATLAS marks a new chapter in assessing the role of impact and sustainability in the venture capital and private equity sphere. We spent 18 months collaborating with industry experts to develop a solution at a time when corporate and financial action continues to garner much scrutiny. We look forward to working with our customers, including our first, Octopus Ventures, renowned for leadership in innovative thinking, as they seize the opportunity to be standard setters for private equity and venture capital investment.”